Team Stats

Shots (on goal)

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Offsides

PROVIDENCE, RI – Senior captain Sarah Hebert-Seropian (Vaudreuil-Dorion, QUE) and sophomore Maddie Wiener (Portland, OR) scored goals 37 seconds apart during the final 15 minutes of play to help lift the Brown women's soccer team (3-0-0) to a hard-fought 2-0 win over cross-town rival Providence College (1-2-4) on a rainy Wednesday evening at Stevenson Field.

The game, played mostly in the middle third of the field, was a physical battle throughout with the Friars edging the Bears in shots, 12-10, and holding a 3-1 advantage in corner kicks, two of which came in the final three minutes of the game with PC pressing to get on the board. The two teams also combined for 22 fouls, while Providence's Caitlin Walker made four saves and Brown sophomores Amber Bledsoe (Cincinnati, OH) and MC Barrett (Ithaca, NY) combined for five saves with Bledsoe stopping two in the first half and Barrett earning the win with three in the second half.

After playing through a 0-0 deadlock for the first 45 minutes, both sides picked up the intensity from the start of the second half with Brown getting whistled for three fouls during the first five minutes of the half.

Providence nearly went ahead, 1-0, at the 50:56 mark when Emily Castle's attempt on a Friars' free kick just missed the outstretched arms of Barrett and deflected off the cross bar to keep the game scoreless. Following another attempt by the Friars that went wide of the net about five minutes later, the momentum shifted towards the Bears when senior Marybeth Lesbirel's (Holmdel, NJ) chance from inside the box was saved by Walker in the 60th minute.

Less than three minutes later, Hebert-Seropian just missed putting the Bears on top when she received a cross from junior Eliza Marshall (North Andover, MA) in the box and had Walker beat. However, her one-timer sailed high of the net, as the score remained knotted at zero.

The teams each traded chances over the next 15 minutes with both sides becoming more-and-more aggressive, while looking to snap the tie. Brown finally broke through at 76:46 on Hebert-Seropian's first of the year. After earning a free kick at their defensive 35, junior Diana Ohrt (Simi Valley, CA) served the ball over a crowd of people in the box. The ball bounced on the wet grass and Hebert-Seropian was able to corral it, before firing it past Walker to the right side of the net for what would prove to be the game-winner.

The Bears gained possession quickly after the restart and just 37 seconds later, Wiener's first goal of the season doubled Brown's lead. Wiener carried the ball up the left sideline and sent a cross into the box. Walker came out to play the cross, but the ball bounced off of her and deflected into the far side of the net for a 2-0 Brown lead.

The Friars had a pair of nice chances to get on the board in the game's final minutes, including a shot from point blank range by Courtney Collins that Barrett saved with 24 seconds remaining to help preserve the shutout, Brown's second of the year.

The Bears continue action on Saturday, September 10th, when they host Vermont in a 4:00 p.m. contest.